Who's Who in the Superman Comics

Kandor

Kandor is a world removed from a solid dimensional base. Originally a city from the planet Krypton, Kandor has traveled far from where it began. A Rigelian and friend of Jor-El, Kushungar related Kandor's history and mysterious abduction (MOS #111). At the high point of Kryptonian civilization, Kandor was a thriving place of commerce. Decisions reached by the Pure Krypton Cultural Program turned Kandor into a restricted ghetto, a physical and cultural containment zone for all non-Kryptonians. By Council Decree, all aliens living on Krypton were quarantined, lest they contaminate the council's idea of cultural purity. Kushungar relates that even this arrangement was not sufficient for the Council. One night Kandor was removed from the face of the planet in a cataclysmic, trans-dimensional abduction. This left scores of non-Kryptonians alone and destitute in the ruins that remained, presumed dead by the Kryptonian Council.

Kandor's prison became an isolated dimensional prison, a bottle locked off from the outer world. Somehow Kandor came to be in possession of the long-lived alien sorcerer Tolos. Superman first saw the bottle city when he encountered the wizard while a fugitive from the Tribunal. Tolos improved on the already diverse collection of aliens in this Kryptonian city, he would dimensionally phase them to and from Kandor. In this way he was able to control their physical bodies with his own will. Tolos later arrived in Metropolis in search of Superman. He used many different hosts for his attempt to gain Superman for his own, most notably a powerful Daxamite, Cil Gand.

When Tolos was about to capture Superman, Cil Gand sacrificed himself to save Superman, and apparently killed Tolos. Superman has vowed to free the aliens still in Kandor's other dimension. When its environment became unstable, Prof. Hamilton saved the city at Superman's Antarctic Fortress. Even then, Superman was unaware of Kandor's connection to his home.

Shortly after his visit to Kandor, Superman's powers radically altered. One theory was the field used to transmit people into the bottled city may have had an uncertain side effect. The Prince of Kandor, Ceritak, escaped the dimensional prison and had many adventures on Earth using the name Scorn. With the disappearance of Tolos as the ruler of Kandor, civil unrest broke out within the city. The Cyborg entered Kandor, and added to the unrest by murdering Cerimul, Kandor's leader and Scorn's father. Superman came to Kandor and defeated the Cyborg and imprisoned him between dimensions in Kandor's protective field. Shortly afterwards, Cerizah, Scorn's sister assumed the leadership of Kandor.

When the Fortress of Solitude was destroyed during Dominus' terrorism of Superman, Kandor was thought to be lost. Amazingly the Reality Flux Sensors gave the people warning before the Kryptonite warhead struck the Fortress. Doing anything to survive, the Kandorian scientists were able to cut the tenuous cord that bound Kandor to our plane of reality. It was set adrift in the Phantom Zone, which Cerizah coined a protocosmic catch-all for dimensional rift debris. It may be that Kandor was subconsciously drawn to the Phantom Zone, its origin directly linked to Krypton as it is. The Cyborg was also freed the same as Kandor and found his way to the city from time to time. The citizens were able to come up with devices that could hold the Cyborg at bay and keep him under control. They demonstrated this when the Cybermoths unleashed the mutated Cyborg on an unsuspecting Superman during the rebirth of the Fortress (MOS #100).

Kandor is once again harbored in the Fortress of Solitude until Superman can one day find a way to free the people from their dimensional prison. Until that day, Cerizah and the people of Kandor will feel safe knowing Superman is looking out for their well being.

On a subsequent return to Krypton through the Phantom Zone, Superman learned the incredible tale of Kandor firsthand from one of its residents referred to above (AOS #563).

Later, Superman found himself trapped in the bottle city by Lyla, a woman from Kandor who pulled him in to make him see that Kandor was, in fact, assailed by an accelerated time stream (ACT #812).

In the end, she escaped with Superman's powers, and Superman managed to stop her, but not before releasing Preus, a bigoted Kandorian purist with a passionate hatred for Superman.

The bottle city remains imprisoned... at least for now.

First Appearance: SUP #107 (Dec. 1995)

Who's Who in the Superman Comics

Introduction

This is a listing of many of the notable characters and a few places that have appeared in the Superman comics from the 1986 revamp up until around 2008.

NOTE: A new, and more current version of the Who's Who is currently being worked on and can be accessed by clicking here.

Although Superman often appears in other DC Comics, this text's information is limited mainly to what has occurred in the regular Superman comics.

Many thanks to Scotty V, Derrick Lyle Coleman, Dean Vanek, Genevieve Clemens and Benjamin Grose who all helped out at one time or another with writing and updating these Who's Who descriptions.